Probably 20 years ago now, MPP had an audience with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Back in our early days, we had one study course, The Myth of Freedom, based on Trungpa Rinpoche’s book and the resonant title. What else should we be teaching inmates? we wondered. I remember he looked up for a moment into the distance, and then said without hesitation: “The sixth chapter of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara.”
All right. What’s in the sixth chapter of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara—“The Way of the Bodhisattva”? It describes in considerable detail how patience is an antidote to anger. In fact, it has quite a bit to say about anger and all the many reasons we use to justify it. Shantideva, the Indian Buddhist master who wrote this epic poem as a commentary on the bodhisattva path, doesn’t seem to think that there’s really any basis or validity for getting angry about anything at any time for any reason.
Try and tell that to the average convict. [Read more…]